A TEENAGER is fighting for his life after being shot in the head with a three-pronged

harpoon in Thatcham on Saturday night.

The bolt was fired into 15-year-old Matthew Hawkins' face during a fight in Park Avenue.

The bolt penetrated the boy's eye, cheekbone and jaw and it took a four-hour operation at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford yesterday to remove it from his head.

Matthew, of Dunstan Road, was still in a critical condition in intensive care this morning and a police spokeswoman said surgeons believe the 24 hours following the operation will be vital for him.

It was first thought the harpoon, which has two-inch prongs, had been stabbed into the boy's face, but the operation proved the bolt had been fired at him due to the depth of penetration.

Detective Inspector John Purnell of Newbury CID said the incident was triggered on Saturday evening when a 25-year-old man living in Park Avenue confronted a gang of youths who were loitering by a telephone kiosk.

The man returned to his flat and the youths left but DI Purnell said it appeared teenager Matthew had returned to the man's flat about 20 minutes later with two older men and a fight broke out outside.

Det Insp Purnell said: "The resident was stabbed in the stomach in the incident. The 15-year-old got a harpoon bolt impaled in his eye.

"It seems that the harpoon belonged to the resident in the flat.

"There were earlier reports that about 20 people were involved in the fight but I don't think this is right. We think it is more like four people."

He said the cause of the incident could have been as little as "someone telling the lads to keep the noise down".

The 25-year-old man stabbed in the stomach in the incident was taken to Royal Berkshire Hospital. He remains there today but his injuries are not thought to be life threatening.

Scenes of crime officers were in Park Avenue all day yesterday gathering forensic evidence and are now in possession of the harpoon gun.

Two Thatcham men in their 20s were arrested at 11pm on Saturday night after the fight on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm. They were then interviewed by Newbury CID and have been released on police bail to return in April.

People living in Thatcham have been left shocked by the incident. Most neighbours described Park Avenue as a relatively quiet area which is not seriously troubled by gangs of youths.

One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: "You sometimes hear shouting, but this is not a bad area. You don't get a lot of trouble round here."

But Matthew's mother, 33-year-old Tina Donaldson, who lives in the block of flats where the fight took place, said: "I wouldn't say this is a particularly quiet area.

"You often hear a lot of shouting

at night.

"Last night I heard a lot of noise. I was the only one awake. I saw the ambulance leaving and to be honest thought it must be a domestic

incident.

"You do hear people shouting and arguing."

Another flat occupant, who also asked not to be named, said she saw about 10 young men and women in their 20s gathered outside the flats.

She heard one of the girls screaming and saw the ambulance arrive but didn't know what

has happened.

She said: "I know the injured boy Matthew Hawkins. He is usually a quiet boy and I would not expect him to be involved in anything like this. I have tried to speak to his mother but I think she must be at the hospital.

"When I looked out I didn't see Matthew there."

She said Matthew, who has two brothers and a sister, lives with his mother and her partner and goes to Kennet School.